Food safety events
During the fourth quarter of 2018, the INFOSAN Secretariat has been involved in 19 food safety events involving 65 WHO Member States. There were 12 events involving a biological hazard (Salmonella (7), Listeria monocytogenes (2), E.coli (1), Norovirus (1), and unspecified (1)), five involving a physical hazard (metal (3), Konjac fruit jelly (1) and glass (1)), one involving a chemical hazard (lead), and one involving an undeclared allergen (milk).
The food categories most commonly involved in the 19 events during the fourth quarter of 2018 were fish and other seafood (3), herbs, spices and condiments (3), meat and meat products (2), milk and dairy products (2), sugar and confectionary (2), vegetables and vegetable products (2), cereals and cereal-based products (1), fruit and fruit products (1), nuts and oilseeds (1), products for special nutritional use (1), and snacks, desserts and other foods (1).
During such international food safety events, the INFOSAN Secretariat relies on the swift action of national INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points to respond to requests for information. Rapid sharing of information through INFOSAN enables members to implement appropriate risk management measures to prevent illness in their respective countries.
Geographic scope
These events involved Member States from all WHO regions: Europe (29), followed by the Americas (15), Africa (9), the Western Pacific (9), the Eastern Mediterranean (4) and finally South-East Asia (2).
During this quarter, a multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Concord infections in Canada, Israel and the United States linked to the consumption of Tahini products manufactured by a single factory in Israel, was reported to the INFOSAN Secretariat. Products linked to this outbreak were distributed globally. The INFOSAN Secretariat worked in collaboration with the INFOSAN Emergency Contact Point (ECP) in Israel to identify and share export details with INFOSAN members in the recipient countries. During this event, information sharing through INFOSAN helped to facilitate the recall of affected Tahini products, the identification of onward international distribution, and the sharing of whole genome sequencing data to identify illnesses in other countries linked to the consumption of implicated products.
News & activities
In early November 2018, the INFOSAN Secretariat, together with colleagues from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) organized the fifth Regional Meeting of INFOSAN members in the Americas, held in Guanajuato, Mexico. More than 50 INFOSAN members from 30 countries attended the meeting where the updated Regional Strategy to Strengthen INFOSAN in the Americas was reviewed. In addition, INFOSAN members in the Americas developed INFOSAN Action Plans for 2019 and shared these on the INFOSAN Community Website. The Americas is the only region where regional INFOSAN meetings have been organized annually and where a regional strategy for strengthening INFOSAN has been developed and actioned. In addition, the Americas is now the first and only region to achieve 100% membership coverage (i.e. active INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points in all Member States). Participation in regional meetings on an annual basis has certainly contributed to INFOSAN members in the Americas being the most responsive during food safety emergencies when engaged by the INFOSAN Secretariat, compared to members from other regions. Gratitude is extended to Mexico for hosting the meeting and the USA as well as the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) Secretariat for providing financial support.
Later in November 2018, two online emergency communication exercises were organized for INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points and National IHR Focal Points from 15 countries in the South East Asian and Western Pacific regions. The objectives of the exercises were to: 1) familiarize participants with the type of information typically requested and exchanged through INFOSAN during an international food safety emergency; 2) verify the communication channel between INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points and National International Health Regulations (IHR) Focal Points; and 3) ensure INFOSAN Emergency Contact Points can access and utilize the INFOSAN Community Website. Feedback from INFOSAN members following the exercise indicated that participation highlighted specific areas to be strengthened in order to bolster preparedness for food safety emergency response in the future.
In December 2018, the INFOSAN Secretariat, together with WHO colleagues from the South-East Asia and Western Pacific offices, facilitated a meeting of INFOSAN members in Asia in Seoul, Republic Korea. Fifty INFOSAN members from 18 countries attended the meeting. The outcomes of the two online emergency communication exercises held in November 2018 were reviewed, as was the involvement of members in the Asian region in the outbreak of Salmonella Agona infections linked to internationally distributed infant formula . INFOSAN members in Asia agreed to share INFOSAN Action Plans for 2019 with the INFOSAN Community. As with INFOSAN members in the Americas, these plans will contribute to strengthening INFOSAN and other activities related to food safety emergency response. Many thanks to the Republic of Korea for their efforts to coordinate this meeting. Financial support from the Republic of Korea and the GOARN Secretariat for the organization of this meeting is appreciated.
Finally, the INFOSAN Activity Report 2016/2017 has been published and is now available online, here
Voice of an active network member
